Monday, July 19, 2010

Letter to the editor

I have commented to Daily Star stories online for a number of years. You could even say it's been more than 30 years if you count a letter I submitted when I was in high school in the 70's. I recently posted a comment on an article of the death of a young Tucsonan in Afghanistan. It was the same comment that I had posted for an online Star article a few years ago when I read of another young Tucsonan who had been killed in Iraq. It was a message of condolences to his family, and then I simply said, "support our troops, bring them home". The online editors deemed this to be "politicizing" and I learned that I was banned from commenting.

I am a native Tucsonan and have been reading Tucson newspapers all my life. At one time I delivered the Citizen. I no longer live in Tucson because of my work but when I travel home to visit my aged mother I often get up in the morning and walk a block to a convenience store and buy a hard copy of the Star. My mother has a computer but I prefer to read a paper version when I am in Tucson.

I was not advised that I had been banned on commenting until I contacted the Star by email when I found that my comments weren't posting. The Star Online Staff did not have the courtesy to contact me prior to that. Online Editor John Bolton replied, "You ignored the warning not to politicize the comment thread on the Tucson soldier's obituary, so you have been banned from further commenting". I asked how a message of support for our troops and a wish for their safe return was "politicizing". He has not responded to my question.

A comment that was previously posted on the same type of story has gotten me banned now. It makes me wonder if the online staff of the Star would side with a recent Caltrans decision to paint over an American Flag on a California frewway after deeming it to be graffiti.